FAA Air Traffic control head Hank Krakowski steps down after 'sleeping on the job' epidemic

FAA Air Traffic control head Hank Krakowski steps down after 'sleeping on the job' epidemic

 

The head of the FAA's air traffic control division has resigned after four controllers were found sleeping on the job so far this year.

Grounded: Hank Krakowski resigned after investigators found four separate incidents of ATC's falling asleep

The resignation of Hank Krakowski, head of the department's Air Traffic Organisation, comes as FAA chief Randy Babbitt ordered a 'top to bottom' review of air traffic control staffing in the wake of the scandals.

Mr Krawkowski played himself in the 2005 made-for-TV movie Grounded on 9/11, about the grounding of all planes in U.S. airspace just after the terrorist attacks.

Before taking up his role at the FAA he was VP Safety, Security & Quality at United Airlines and also flew as an stunt pilot with the Lima Lima aerobatics team.

In a statement the head of the FAA Randy Babbitt said: 'Over the last few weeks we have seen examples of unprofessional conduct.

'This conduct must stop immediately.

 

'We are conducting a top to bottom review of the way we operate our air traffic control system.'

It was also announced David Grizzle will temporarily take over Mr Krakowski's duties while the agency searches for a replacement.

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Over worked: The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has warned against putting controllers alone on shifts and assigning tiring work schedules

 

The resignation follows four incidents of air traffic controllers falling asleep at their posts over the last few months.

HELP ON THE WAY

The FAA identified airport towers where a second controller has been added to the midnight shift:

Akron-Canton, Ohio
Allegheny, Pennsylvania
Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
Burbank, California
Duluth, Minnesota
DuPage, Illinois
Fargo, North Dakota
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Ft. Worth Meacham, Texas
Grant County, Washington
Kansas City, Missouri
Manchester, New Hampshire
Omaha, Nebraska
Ontario, California
Reno-Tahoe, Nevada
Richmond, Virginia
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Terre Haute, Indiana
Teterboro, New Jersey
Tucson, Arizona
Willow Run, Michigan
Windsor Locks, Connecticut
Youngstown, Ohio

Babbitt and Paul Rinaldi, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents FAA's more than 15,000 controllers, will be visiting airports and radar facilities around the country next week 'to reinforce the need for all air traffic personnel to adhere to the highest professional standards.'

Last month, two jet liners landed at Washington's Reagan National Airport without tower assistance after the lone air traffic supervisor fell asleep.

A follow-up investigation by the FAA then uncovered a second incident of an air traffic controller sleeping on the job in February during the midnight shift at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee.

On Monday a controller at Boeing Field/King County International Airport in Seattle was suspended for falling asleep during his morning shift.

The same controller was already facing disciplinary action for falling asleep on another shift this year.

Yesterday it also emerged a medical plane was forced to land without ground assistance at Reno-Tahoe International Airport after a controller fell asleep in the tower and was out of communication for 16 minutes.

The latest incidents come nearly five years after a fatal crash in Kentucky in which a controller was working alone. Investigators said the controller in Kentucky was most likely suffering from fatigue, although they placed responsibility for the crash that took 49 lives on the pilots.